The Latest: 27 arrests at rallies; Trump applauds people

Aug. 19, 2017

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on a conservative rally and counterdemonstration in Boston and around the country (all times local):

5:25 p.m.

Boston police say 27 arrests were made during the conservative activist rally and counterdemonstration on Boston Common.

Commissioner William Evans says Saturday's events went off "as planned," with no one hurt or killed. Most of the arrests were for disorderly conduct. Some were for assaulting police officers.

Thousands of demonstrators chanting anti-Nazi slogans converged Saturday morning on downtown Boston, dwarfing a smaller group of conservatives staging their own "free speech rally." The conservatives left shortly after their arrival.

Evans and Democratic Mayor Marty Walsh praised law enforcement for monitoring the demonstrations, which drew about 40,000 people.

President Donald Trump is applauding the people in Boston who he says are "speaking out" against bigotry and hate.

Trump adds in a Twitter message that "Our country will soon come together as one!"

___

4 p.m.

President Donald Trump is complimenting the Boston police on Twitter for their handling of the rallies minutes before the police department tweeted asking people to stop throwing items at them.

Boston Police Department tweeted shortly after that urine, rocks and bottles were being thrown at officers and were asking people to refrain from doing so.

Thousands of demonstrators chanting anti-Nazi slogans converged Saturday morning on downtown Boston, dwarfing a smaller group of conservatives staging their own "free speech rally." The conservatives left the rally around 1 p.m., shortly after their arrival.

The Boston Globe reports about 20 arrests had been made.

___

3:30 p.m.

Counterprotesters have begun to disperse after flooding a conservative activist rally in Boston that ended shortly after it began.

Boston police say Saturday's "Free Speech Rally" on the Boston Common has officially ended. Some police officers were still stationed around the State House nearby.

Dozens of conservative rallygoers had gathered on the Common, but then left less than an hour after the event was getting underway. Thousands of counterprotesters had also gathered.

A law enforcement official says there were about 20 arrests. No serious injuries have been reported.

Many counterprotesters still remain in the area, including a few who were among people chanting "Black Lives Matter" who burned a confederate flag.

Participants have left the location of a conservative activist rally, leaving behind thousands of counterprotesters.

Dozens of rallygoers had gathered on the Boston Common on Saturday, but then left shortly after the event was getting underway. It's unclear if they will gather to rally somewhere else in the city.

Rallygoers had been met by counterprotesters who marched from the city's Roxbury neighborhood about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) to the Common.

There have been some confrontations involving counterprotesters, including a group that grabbed an American flag out of an elderly woman's hands, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground.

Organizers of the "Free Speech Rally" have publicly distanced themselves from the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who fomented violence in Charlottesville on Aug. 12.

___

12:20 p.m.

Confrontations are happening amid a gathering of counterprotesters and conservative rally participants in Boston.

Thousands of demonstrators marched Saturday from the city's Roxbury neighborhood to Boston Common, where the "Free Speech Rally" is being held. Dozens of free speech rallygoers have arrived.

TV cameras showed a group of boisterous counterprotesters chasing a man with a Trump campaign banner and cap, shouting and swearing at him. Other counterprotesters intervened and helped the man safely over a fence to where the conservative rally was to be staged.

Black-clad counterprotesters also grabbed an American flag out of an elderly woman's hands, and she stumbled and fell to the ground.

Organizers of the "Free Speech Rally" have publicly distanced themselves from the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who fomented violence in Charlottesville on Aug. 12.

___

11:30 a.m.

Thousands of counterprotesters have begun a mileslong march ahead of a conservative rally that's getting underway in Boston.

Demonstrators started marching Saturday morning from the city's Roxbury neighborhood. Organizers say demonstrators will march to Boston Common, where the rally is taking place.

Police say they'll be out in force to keep the two groups apart.

Organizers of the "Free Speech Rally" have publicly distanced themselves from the neo-Nazis, white supremacists and others who fomented violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12.

Boston's rally is the first potentially large and racially charged gathering in a major U.S. city since a car plowed into counter-demonstrators in Charlottesville, killing a woman and injuring many others.

Events are planned in cities across the country including Atlanta, Dallas and New Orleans.

___

10:25 a.m.

Demonstrators are arriving at a counterprotest ahead of a conservative rally that's getting underway on Boston Common.

Organizers of the "Free Speech Rally" have publicly distanced themselves from the neo-Nazis, white supremacists and others who fomented violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12.

Boston's rally is the first potentially large and racially charged gathering in a major U.S. city since a car plowed into counter-demonstrators in Charlottesville, killing a woman and injuring many others.

Events are planned in cities across the country including Atlanta, Dallas and New Orleans.

___

12:30 a.m.

Conservative activists and counterprotesters are preparing for a showdown on Boston Common that could draw thousands a week after a demonstration in Virginia turned deadly.

Police say they'll be out in force to keep the two groups apart. Boston's Democratic mayor, Marty Walsh, and Massachusetts' Republican governor, Charlie Baker, have warned that extremist unrest won't be tolerated in this city famed as the cradle of American liberty.

Organizers of Saturday's midday "Free Speech Rally" have publicly distanced themselves from the neo-Nazis, white supremacists and others who fomented violence in Charlottesville on Aug. 12.

Boston's rally is the first potentially large and racially charged gathering in a major U.S. city since a car plowed into counter-demonstrators in Charlottesville, killing a woman and injuring scores of others.

Events also are planned Saturday in Atlanta, Dallas and other cities across the country.